anyone ever used one of these?

[N3DRB The Derb]

http://www.rdlnet.com/product.php?page=63

got it new and the matching 24 volt wall wort for under 40 bucks. Figured I couldn't do much better for the price.

later on after I get used to all this weird broadcast stuff I can trade up if I feel a need to. Now I'll be able to plug a mic right into Ray when he gets here.....whenever that will be  

[W4EWH]

Derb,

The record expired from eBay.

Bill, W1AC

[N3DRB The Derb]

k we just put the manufacturers page up there. hopefully that will not go away.

[W2PFY]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=150423547322&ru=http%3A%2F%2Fcompleted.shop.ebay.com%3A80%2Fi.html%3F_nkw%3D150423547322%26_in_kw%3D1%26_ex_kw%3D%26_sacat%3DSee-All-Categories%26_okw%3D150423547322%26_oexkw%3D%26LH_Complete%3D1%26_udlo%3D%26_udhi%3D%26_samilow%3D%26_samihi%3D%26_sadis%3D200%26_fpos%3DZip%2Bcode%26_fsct%3D%26LH_SALE_CURRENCY%3D0%26_sop%3D10%26_dmd%3D1%26_ipg%3D50%26_rdc%3D1%26_fvi%3D1&_rdc=2

maybe this is it

[N3DRB The Derb]

yeh thats it. but I put the manufacturers link up in place of it.  here it is again:


http://www.rdlnet.com/product.php?page=63

[W7TFO]

RDL goodies are made right here in Arizona.  They have a very comprehensive line of application-related products, tailored to the broadcast and pro-audio bizz.  Everything I have ever bought from them worked FB.

[N3DRB The Derb]

schweet!! 

all I have to do is solder up some cables and install.....oh yeh, small matter of being able to get the transmitter here...... They are estimating the job this morning at 9 am.

makes me nervous as all hell wondering how much munny I'm gonna need. 

[W3RSW]

By now your deep into the grunt phase of moving.
Hopefully they showed up.
Gud luk OM!

[WA3VJB]

Looks like you got it for less than half price. Excellent !

I have several of their modules, Derb, and all of them work very well.   As you've seen, the website provides all hookup and documentation too, if that didn't come with yours.

One I have is a "distribution amplifier" that takes the 600 ohm balanced output of a console, (mono, single set of terminals) and allows me to feed multiple destinations.  Absolutely transparent. I cannot hear any additional noise, the phase stays correct, and the frequency response is untainted.  The unit also seems to have a lot of headroom before I can overload its input, levels that would need to be corrected anyway.

Good stuff.

The only problem I've had is with the wall warts. Two of them have simply crapped out. None have cooked, they just quit.  Luckily that's not a strange voltage so I've just drawn power from elsewhere.

Question -- with that nice set of audio processing WHY would you want to plug a mic directly into the transmitter ?  Call me if you need any guidance as to hooking that stuff up, please!  IT'll be worth the effort and shouldn't take much time.

Now I'll be able to plug a mic right into Ray when he gets here.....whenever that will be  

[N3DRB The Derb]

I should have been more clear - I am working under the assumption that I needed a mic preamp to bring the mic up to the  line level required to plug into the CRL APP-400 and from there into either the behringer or the CRL limiter.

The inputs on all the gear are 0 db , right? thats what I got from the manuals. So the mic goes into the mic preamp, out to the app 400, then to either CRL or 9024 limiter.

[WA3VJB]

Wull that's why I was puzzled when you said mic/preamp directly into transmitter !

It was like, geez, he's brought it up to line level, why not drive the GOODY BOXES into the transmitter !

What you wrote below is the idea.  The mic, into the ebay prize, into the CRL APP-400 (slow compression), into the Behringer (where you can make the sound phat) then finally into the CRL Limiter (for the occasional rapid peak control).

You may have to d*ck with the levels among them to make them all happiest. Eventually you may find that EITHER the Behringer OR the APP-400 are better by themselves, not in conjunction. But if the settings are gentle you may get the best from using both. (There's a chance they may fight each other and make a mess out of your overall compression, since some of their functions overlap.)

I should have been more clear - I am working under the assumption that I needed a mic preamp to bring the mic up to the  line level required to plug into the CRL APP-400 and from there into either the behringer or the CRL limiter.

The inputs on all the gear are 0 db , right? thats what I got from the manuals. So the mic goes into the mic preamp, out to the app 400, then to either CRL or 9024 limiter.

[K5UJ]

Hi Derb--almost any mic preamp is probably okay for voice at first.   You can worry about a better one later unless the one you got is obviously defective in some way. 

The processing boxes seem weird only because this is an unfamiliar aspect of radio at this point.  You may not need all of them--if you run into problems such as distortion, you may want to bypass them and use each one, one at a time (except for the mic preamp which you always have to use).  You can practice messing around with them by running them into a low power AM rig like your transceiver into a dummy load and look at the output on a scope and listen on a separate rx.  this saves running the big rig for lengthy periods heating up a resistor while you test stuff. 

You may get comfortable with only one, say the peak mod. limiter at first.  You might run that and the mic preamp for several months before trying anything else.  That's fine--it is important to take this stuff at a pace that is comfortable and enjoyable for you.  I frequently buy gear then it sits for a couple of years before I get around to doing anything with it.  Friends think that's nuts, but it is at a pace that is enjoyable for me.   

Once you get stuff set up, especially the mod limiter, you won't want to operate without it.  You may find other gear, mics, equalizers, that you don't have yet, that you like better too.

R.

[N3DRB The Derb]

its only weird because it's all totally new to me. 

[K5WLF]

I've got several of the RDL modules scattered through the audio system in the planetarium at work and I'm getting ready to build one into the new radio/etc console I'm building for my pickup. Everyone I've ever used works great. It's all good equipment.

ldb

[K5UJ]

its only weird because it's all totally new to me. 

Right.  What I found is that once I got stuff powered up and connected and started putting a signal into this box or that, and did some knob twiddling, some screw driver diddling, and looked at the output and listened, then things began to come together.  Not all of a sudden--it took some time experimenting--but I eventually got things set up.  So you can get only so far reading--not a waste of time--but once you begin to mess around with the gear things will get clearer.  There's switches, pots with knobs and tweak stick slots and on some of the stuff internal jumpers.  The PMC400A has internal jumpers as I recall.  You may want to start out running that one with the top cover off so you can make internal adjustments on the fly until you get it the way you like it.

Of course you probably want to get Ray putting out a signal and get it cooking with gas before you do anything with the processing stuff unless you can work out the audio boxes separately.

Rob